A Viagem

A captivating small film dealing with the relationship of two gay men over many years and the surrounding upheaval of the gay movement. Many wonderful supporting performances contribute to the overall goodwill of the film. Sirena Irwin is a sketch as Beverly the trend jumping Greek chorus and Jill St. John an absolute scene stealer as Alan's boozy wise mom but the entire cast even in the smallest roles are splendid. The musical score is also loaded with excellent choices which really set the right tone for each scene. It all boils down however to the chemistry and performances of the two lead actors which are strong and makes you really like and root for the characters throughout their journey.

"The Trip" is one of the best romances I've ever seen. After a seemingly endless barrage of horrible gay films, I was actually taken aback by how good this film turned out to be. The story features well written, witty, and humorous dialog that moves the plot line believably through the years that the story encompasses. The performances are uniformly good, but Larry Sullivan is a real stand out as Alan Oakley. His performance lends credibility to the character he is portraying as he grows through landmarks of history (gay historical landmarks in particular). After purchasing this film on DVD, I did an Internet search and was disappointed that this gifted actor has not done more films. Wake up Hollywood! Sullivan is pleasing to look at, talented, and has a certain magnetism that draws the viewer into the story. The enormity of his appeal is hard to describe, but I have no doubt that the right vehicle would make him into a major star. Other stand outs in the film are Steve Braun (who reminds me a lot of a young Brad Pitt) who does an excellent job as Alan's gay activist lover, and Sirena Irwin as Beverly (a woman just slightly ahead of her time). Veteran actors Ray Baker and Jill St. John give substantial supporting performances, and Julie Brown gives a memorable quirky cameo performance as an 80's Madonna attired receptionist. Alexis Arquette plays "Michael" a slightly stereotypical funny slut (a year working as a bartender in a gay bar taught me that there are many people who are this "over the top" in real life). Overall, I recommend this film not as an excellent "gay" film, but as an excellent film in general.

This movie presents the zeitgeist of gay history post-Hippie through the early-AIDS era. It pans this period in a Forrest Gump-esque fashion: intermixing the romantic plot between the main characters with brief moments from the national plight of gays & lesbians (like the Anita Bryant crusade, Harvey Milk's assassination, losing loved ones to AIDS). As a GenX'er I found this to help personalize something which I have only read about in GLBT history classes. I'm sure it will be "the trip" down memory lane for those guys 40-something and older. Brilliantly written script, excellent acting. If you're looking for a good snuggle movie to watch with your next boy friend, partner, trick, whomever -- this is a must see.

I attended a screening in SF, but found myself unable to speak while the director and two stars were standing before me. So now that I've found my voice again, here goes: While he falls short of achieving his goals, I believe it is because he has set the bar too high for himself. It seems he wanted to do so much in this film, that it was impossible for him to say everything that he wanted to. I am sure that making a film about gay men can be difficult. We want the love story of "Beautiful Thing", the comedy of "Trick", the hunky cast of "Broken Hearts Club", and the tear-jerker sadness of "It's My Party". Mr. Swain tries to do, be, create all of these things in one package. He came respectably close to doing it.

I enjoyed the film, it felt contrived in places, which may have had as much to do with the editing as it does with the fact that this is Mr. Swain's first film. Given time, his voice and vision will mature, and I can't wait to see what happens as it does.

See this film, we need more like it.

I have no doubt that this film would not have been shown at my local cinema which is why I have only just seen it. This is a shame because I thought that this was a very good film.

It is both a very touching film and also a very funny film with some very sensitive acting from Larry Sullivan and Steve Braun who receive some very good support, most notably from Sirena Irwin and Jill St John, but also from Alexis Arquette, Ray Baker and Dennis Bailey.

It was also both interesting and a very elucidating idea to show the various stages of the life of their relationship against a backdrop of the (gay) politics of the time.

I think that it was a shame that I missed it but a much bigger shame that my local cinema would not have run this type of film as it was of a much higher caliber than some of the pulp that they do show (and I don't refer here to the type or genre of the film but to the acting and production values).